CARLSBAD – A federal aviation official is calling the second plane crash near McClellan-Palomar Airport in a week a “tragic coincidence” that shouldn't raise concerns about safety there.

The latest crash occurred at 7:19 a.m. yesterday, when the single-engine plane slammed into a small hillside less than a mile from the airport, killing a corporate pilot from Arizona.

The crash ignited a brush fire that was quickly put out by Carlsbad firefighters.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the crash had “nothing to do with the airport,” and that the timing of the two accidents is a coincidence.

The pilot who died yesterday, Guisseppe “Pino” Puzzo, 41, worked for Statewide Express, a Lake Havasu City, Ariz., transportation company. He was flying to Carlsbad to pick up one of the company's partners and return to Lake Havasu City.

He crashed after canceling an attempted landing in the morning fog and advising air traffic controllers that he planned to circle the airport and try again, Gregor said.

Jon Westergaard, one of the partners in Statewide Express, said the plane – a Beechcraft Bonanza – had recently been upgraded with new computers, which did not indicate any problems as Puzzo approached the airport.

“I've flown many times with him through clouds and rainstorms. I mean, we had every piece of equipment on the plane you would need. I've never felt unsafe with him in the air. I'm not sure what happened at this point,” Westergaard said.

Westergaard said Puzzo was an information-technology guru who ran his own company before becoming a pilot for Statewide two years ago. He had more than 1,000 hours of flight experience. Puzzo is survived by his wife of 15 years, Dawn.

“He was just full of life. He was a great guy,” Westergaard said. “He loved flying. He flew practically every day.”

The crash came seven days after a single-engine Cessna 152 plunged into a canyon near the 16th hole of The Crossings at Carlsbad golf course. Two men, a private pilot and a student pilot, were seriously injured in the Sept. 22 crash. They had just taken off from the airport and were headed to Long Beach.

Joe Garuba, the city's communications manager, said city officials stand by their belief that a golf course – rather than a dense residential area – is a good use of land around an airport.

Garuba said the cause of yesterday's crash was unknown, although there was a “fair amount of fog” in the area as the plane came in.